Controversial Rotorua cell tower installed

The cell tower erected in Springfield today. Photo / Supplied

"Gutted" Springfield, Rotorua residents have woken up this morning to the three-storey cellphone tower they petitioned against in their area.

The residents managed to gather 737 signatures on an online petition, and there was also a physical petition to stop its installation.

The controversial cell phone tower in Springfield in place today. Photo / Supplied

Petition co-ordinator Nilamani Wright's concerns centred around effects on health and property values.

Wright said seeing the tower go up today has left her "absolutely disappointed".

The cell tower erected in Springfield today. Photo / Stephen Parker

es were not heard," she said, by the Rotorua Lakes District Council and Spark.

"We're all gutted," Wright said.

Nilamani Wright is the driving force behind the petition to stop the cell tower. Photo / File

She and other concerned residents had sent various letters for a public forum on the tower going up, she said.

Guidough's Bakery owner Melanie Buchmann said she saw the construction this morning, rolled down her window and yelled "no!"

Buchmann's main concern around the cellphone tower was the lack of long-term research she said there was around the effects of being so close to a tower.

Despite 737 signatures on the online petition, the tower is going up. Photo / Supplied

"I'm not keen on being a guinea pig," but said she would not move despite her worries.

"I love it here, we can't all move. It is what it is," she said.

She said many customers had come in today upset about the tower going up, saying "nobody wants the tower here".

Controversial cell tower erected in Springfield. Photo / Supplied

Buchmann said she was "disappointed, sad . . . but not surprised."

"I didn't think anyone would care how we feel about this tower," she said. "Nobody cares about the residents."